Former Indian coach and commentator, Ravi Shastri, revealed that Hardik Pandya was shocked after Mumbai Indians (MI) didn’t retain him ahead of the IPL 2022 mega auction, as the all-rounder expected to be retained by the franchise given his performances over the years in the IPL.
MI retained Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Suryakumar Yadav, and Kieron Pollard, while releasing Hardik, his brother Krunal Pandya, and Ishan Kishan. However, MI managed to get back Ishan, but Gujarat Titans secured Hardik as their captain while Krunal went to Lucknow Super Giants (LSG).
Ravi Shastri said on commentary during the second ODI between England and India at Lord's: “It shocked him when he was not retained by Mumbai Indians. It was tough... MI had Ishan Kishan, Rohit Sharna, Jasprit Bumrah, Suryakumar Yadav, and Hardik Pandya so they had to pick three out of those five. Ishan Kishan was obviously picked in the auction.”
The former captain also said that Hardik thrives under pressure and he performs even better when the all-rounder is given the added responsibility. That we saw during the IPL 2022, where he led Gujarat Titans (GT) to their maiden trophy in their first appearance.
Shastri signed off by saying, “He was picked by Gujarat Titans, where he was given the extra responsibility of captaining, which did him a world of good. When given responsibility, he's a completely different cricket as opposed to just batting and fielding.”
